In the field of radar, in general, and the subfield of responding to an interrogating signal, it has been known in the past to modulate the amplitude of an incident radar beam and to direct the modulated beam back to the transmitter. For example, IFF systems sometimes use rotating propellers that send a chopped signal back to the transmitting platform. Such systems have the drawback that the return signal may be observed by other observers in the vicinity, since the amplitude modulation is noticeable off the line of sight between the illuminating radar and the target.
It would be advantageous if a target could return a covert response that would not be observable by any system other than the illuminating radar.